Character Biography: Gildor Inglorion 1 ____ Character Biography Gildor Inglorion By Oshun ___ Gildor Inglorion is a fitting choice as a biography subject for Back to Middle-earth Month. He is yet another link between the history of the Elves of the Elder days as recounted in The Silmarillion and that of the Men, Hobbits, and Dwarves of the Third Age upon whom many of the readers of The Lord of the Rings focus. Gildor appears in the saga shortly after Frodo and his companions depart on their quest to safely dispose of the One Ring. Gildor and his company are the first Elves to meet Frodo and the Hobbits in the area of Woody End, a forest in the Eastfarthing of the Shire (1). Compared to how far each of the Hobbits will travel before they reach the end of their tale, they are still very close to home. Fleeing from the Ringwraiths whom they call the Black Riders, the Hobbits see and hear sounds which warn them that some very different beings are near. 'These are High Elves! They spoke the name of Elbereth!' said Frodo in amazement, 'Few of that fairest folk are ever seen in the Shire. Not many now remain in Middle-earth, east of the Great Sea. This is indeed a strange chance!' The hobbits sat in shadow by the wayside. Before long the Elves came down the lane towards the valley. They passed slowly, and the hobbits could see the starlight glimmering on their hair and in their eyes. They bore no lights, yet as they walked a shimmer, like the light of the moon above the rim of the hills before it rises, seemed to fall about their feet. They were now silent, and as the last Elf passed he turned and looked towards the hobbits and laughed. (2) Of course, the sparkle of starlight on their hair and its reflected gleam in the eyes of the Elves not surprisingly grabs the attention of the reader. The Hobbits, with their pointed ears, large hairy feet and notably short stature, are creatures of fantasy fiction, equally absolute in their strangeness and distance from Men as any Elf. Nonetheless, the Hobbits epitomize an earthiness and simplicity that ground them in the mundane, while Gildor and his companions manifest a spark of the divine. These are no ordinary mortals glowing as they do with the luster of a uniquely Other aspect of goodness and refinement. By introducing Gildor and his Elves, Tolkien provides his reader a glimpse of a larger world beyond the Shire, presenting not only a new ally for the Hobbits but giving us a view into the long history of Arda which precedes this tale. Gildor is the vehicle for introducing into The Lord of the Rings the role and nature of the Elves among the free peoples of Middle-earth. There is never any doubt as to whose side the Elves are on and that Frodo and the Hobbits will depend upon them for support. It is Gildor who also provides the first insight into another major aspect of this story. The tale of the One Ring and its disposition is not the only element of drama within this fantasy novel. The poignant tale of the courageous fight of the long defeat of the Elves drawing to its resolution and their passing from Middle-earth serves as the backdrop for every aspect of the Fellowship’s ____ The Silmarillion Writers' Guild Reference Library http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/reference/characterofthemonth/gildor.php © Oshun Character Biography: Gildor Inglorion 2 ____ adventure. At the apex of the book is the tale of the ascendancy of Men as the principle movers and guardians of Arda, taking over that role from the Elves who preceded them. Who Is Gildor Inglorion? 'I am Gildor,' answered their leader, the Elf who had first hailed him. 'Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod. We are Exiles, and most of our kindred have long ago departed and we too are now only tarrying here a while, ere we return over the Great Sea. But some of our kinsfolk dwell still in peace in Rivendell. (3) In referring to himself and his company as Exiles, Gildor identifies them as Noldor. He claims to be one of those who followed Fëanor to Middle-earth in order to regain the Silmarils stolen by Melkor, to avenge the death of their first king Finwë, and to free themselves from the gilded cage of the paternalistic Valar in Aman. They are a remnant of those rebel Elves who wished to re-establish themselves in Middle-earth, seeking, as Galadriel is said to have done, the fulfillment of their “dreams of far lands and dominions that might be her own to order as she would without tutelage” (4). Christopher Tolkien opines in the sixth volume of The History of Middle-earth: At first, I think, my father thought of these Elves as 'Dark-elves'; but he now decided that they (and also the Elves of Rivendell) were indeed 'High Elves of the West', and he added in Gildor's words to Bingo on p. 60 (see note 18): they were 'Wise-elves' (Noldor or Gnomes), 'one of the few companies that still remain east of the Sea', and he himself is Gildor Inglorion of the house of Finrod. With these words of Gildor's cf. the Quenta Silmarillion §28, in V.332: Yet not all the Eldalië were willing to forsake the Hither Lands where they had long suffered and long dwelt; and some lingered many an age in the West and North . But ever as the ages drew on and the Elf-folk faded upon earth, they would set sail at eve from the western shores of this world, as still they do, until now there linger few anywhere of their lonely companies. At this time Finrod was the name of the third son of Finwë (first Lord of the Noldor). This was later changed to Finarfin, when Inglor Felagund his son took over the name Finrod (see I.44), but my father did not change 'of the house of Finrod' here (FR p. 89) to 'of the house of Finarfin' in the second edition of The Lord of the Rings. (5) The name Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod provides more controversy than clarification as to the precise identity of this particular Noldorin exile. Many readers have speculated based upon the phrase “Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod” that he is either a heretofore unmentioned son of Finarfin or even a son of Finrod Felagund. As noted, Inglor is the name used for Finrod the eldest son of Finarfin throughout numerous drafts during the period when Tolkien was referring to Finarfin by the name of Finrod. In the biography published earlier here of Finrod Felagund, I mentioned the discussion relating to the likelihood or not of Gildor being a son of Finrod: ____ The Silmarillion Writers' Guild Reference Library http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/reference/characterofthemonth/gildor.php © Oshun Character Biography: Gildor Inglorion 3 ____ It is generally accepted that Finrod had no wife when he left Aman, but left behind a beloved named Amárië. She is mentioned in the published Silmarillion in the “Index of Names” as a “Vanyarin Elf, beloved of Finrod Felagund, who remained in Valinor.” (For further details on Amárië, see SWG Character Biography of Amárië.) There is no mention of children of Finrod in the texts. This, however, has not prevented ongoing discussions relating to the question of ‘who then is Gildor Inglorion?’ * * * * The statement that he is of the House of Finrod and uses the name Inglorion, i.e., son of Inglor (the name Tolkien used for Finrod for decades and the one to be found throughout most of the volumes of The History of Middle-earth), might, according to some readers, link him directly to Finrod. (6) The Shibboleth of Fëanor notes that “Finarfin's father-name was Arafinwë (Q: ‘Noble [son of] Finwë’). His mother-name was Ingalaurë (‘Inga-gold’)” (7). This is yet another possible source for the descriptive name Inglorion. It is impossible to definitively link Gildor Inglorion to either Finrod Felagund and/or Finarfin. This reader would be one of those to speculate that the Elf who calls himself Gildor Inglorion is neither a son of Finarfin nor of Finrod Felagund. He seems more footloose and less regal. Time may have mellowed him, but it did not soften Galadriel, who still seems intimidatingly intense in the LotR. Finarfin’s children were eager to explore Middle-earth. We have examples of that in Galadriel and her brothers and most of all in Finrod. One could read that as a way in which Gildor resembles the children of the House of Finarfin. However, they always approached their travels about Middle-earth as leaders. Gildor does not take upon himself a direct responsibility for the larger concerns of the Ringbearer, which we find later in the LotR texts on the part of the remaining Elf-lords of Middle- earth, Elrond, Galadriel, or Celeborn and even the very independent-minded Thranduil. Gildor and his company seek to protect the Hobbits, but not to instruct or advise them. One of the best-known citations relating to Gildor’s encounter with the Hobbits is the following one relating to the affairs of Wizards and the reticence of Elves for advising Mortals: Gildor was silent for a moment. 'I do not like this news,' he said at last. 'That Gandalf should be late, does not bode well. But it is said: Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.